Living Life for Christ Alone

The sun was shining in the window as I held our newest little blessing in my lap and fed her a bottle.  I could hear my two-year-old crying in her crib, while my three-year-old softly tried to talk sense to her from her bed across the room. (It's hilarious to overhear, but that's a whole other topic.) I looked up at the clock and my heart sank.  "Late again," I thought. "Poor girls... When will I get the timing of the morning down? No wonder Avi is so upset."  As usual, I felt like kicking myself. Two weeks of this, and I still don't have it down....  A gentle nudge from within stopped me from going any further down that path.  "Do you really expect to be mistake free?"  // The last couple of weeks have been uncomfortable for me as I learn the ropes of endless paperwork, visits, communication with people involved in the foster care system, court dates and building a relationship with the baby's biological family.  It would certainly be a lo...

"Where do wars and fights come from among you?" (James 4:1) Have you ever paused to wonder why fights happen?  When I say fighting, yes, I could be talking about actual wars happening. I could also be referring to the battles we fight within our own country- political, social, and so on.  I could be talking about the rifts that happen interdenominationally, or even within a single church.  But I'm sure we all know that fighting happens a lot closer to home than that.  How about the "disagreements" (er, arguments) that happen within families: among siblings, spouses, parents and teens, etc.? There is something almost thrilling about joining in a good argument, would you agree? I've gotten caught up in some of them myself. It's almost addicting to fight for that last word.  But usually, whoever had the last word was the one who inflicted the most pain.  And whenever that last word is followed by silence, you can be sure that it will take a lot of work to ...

"One of the teachers of religious law... asked, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' Jesus replied, 'The most important commandment is this: "Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." The second is equally important: "Love your neighbor as yourself." No other commandment is greater than these.'" (Mark 12:28-31) Have you ever wondered what brings God the most pleasure?   The out-flowing desire of a person who has been redeemed is to know what pleases Him. After all that He did for us in saving us from a life of sin and separation from God, and then eternity in hell still separated from God, it only makes sense to have so much gratitude in your heart that you want to do something for Him.